On the second day of our overnight stay in the Port of Nawiliwili on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, I woke up feeling great after having the best and longest night’s sleep of the trip so far. As I had sadly lost our game of basketball the night before, it was my job to go and get the tea from the drink station on Deck 9 which we drank whilst sitting on our verandah. It was such a beautiful morning and as we sat talking we also realised that neither of us had any idea what day of week it was which was such a great sign as it meant we were truly enjoying every minute of our time in Hawaii and had been able to completely switch off and forget about the outside world.

After getting ready for the day ahead we walked up to Cabanas to get some breakfast and as we were sitting outside, I noticed a road located close to the ship where we could drive to (we were able to work out where it was using Google Maps) and possibly get a good view of the Disney Wonder.

As we had been docked overnight we were able to disembark the ship whenever we were ready that morning so just after 9:15am we walked off the Disney Wonder ready for our last day exploring Hawaii. It only took a few minutes to walk out of the port area and across the main road to reach the spot where we had parked our rental car the previous afternoon. It really was a great feeling knowing that our car was parked so close to the ship and it made the start of our day very easy and completely stress free.

Our first stop of the day was the road that we had seen from Cabanas whilst we were having breakfast. There was a little view and we got to see Donald as well as his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie of the stern of the Disney Wonder.

The biggest advantage of having an overnight stop in Nawiliwili was being able to split up all of the sightseeing that we wanted to do whilst we were in Kauai. Our original Hawaii cruise that was sadly cancelled back in 2020 only had one day scheduled on the island of Kauai so in hindsight I think we would have definitely struggled to see everything we wanted to had that cruise actually happened. Our plan for this day was to drive out of Lihue and explore the North Shore of the island.

It was so wonderful to have this relaxing day in Kauai after a few busy days sightseeing on the other islands. It was also a relatively short day for us compared to the others as this was our last port in Hawaii so we were keeping a constant eye on the time as our all aboard time that afternoon was 4:45pm.

The drive to Hanalei Bay on the North Shore took just over an hour with a little traffic on the way due to some roadworks blocking the main road. The views across the bay were simply incredible – it really was paradise.

Our next stops were at the beautiful Wai’oli Hui’ia Church as well as both the Hanalei Bay Lookout and the Hanalei Valley Lookout.

During our drive back along the North Shore we also stopped near the Kilauea Lighthouse where there is a viewpoint with a small parking area where you can see the lighthouse in the distance. It was closed to visitors on both days we were in Kauai but if you are there when it is open, you will need to make an online reservation to visit before your trip.

Further around on the east coast of the island, Kaiakea Point had great views of Kapa’a Beach Park as well as the entire coastline all the way back to Lihue in the distance.

Before we took the car back to Alamo, we wanted to visit one last spot which was the Kuki’i Point Lighthouse at the entrance to Nawilwili Harbor. There was free parking available and the view of the Disney Wonder across the bay was perfect.

After taking way too many photos of the Disney Wonder and the surrounding harbour, we drove back to Alamo at Lihue Airport to drop the car off. The total price for our two day car rental was $170 (£142) which included all insurance cover, an extra driver as well as a tank of fuel. This was an incredible price for an SUV and so worth it given what we were able to see and do during our time on the island.

After the difficulty of being able to get a taxi or an Uber the day before when we arrived in Nawiliwili, we made sure to give ourselves plenty of time to get back to the ship just in case there were any problems that afternoon – we also knew that we had more than enough time if we had to walk the two miles back. At the airport there was a thirty minute wait for a taxi but we quickly checked the Lyft app to see a car available and were on our way back to the ship within ten minutes. We arrived back at the Port of Nawilwili at 2:55pm which was just under two hours before the all aboard time at 4:45pm – there was no way we were going to risk being late back as this was our last port day before spending five days at sea on the way to Vancouver.

We boarded the Disney Wonder shortly after 3:00pm with a feeling of complete joy and relief that we had finally done everything that we wanted to do in Hawaii after a very long four years of planning, waiting and cancellations – the only things that we had not done were places that had sadly closed down during the pandemic.

When we got back to our stateroom we had a plate of olives and nuts waiting for us but as we were feeling very hungry after our day exploring Kauai we walked up to Deck 9 to get some much needed food. Everyone else already onboard was doing the exact same thing as all of the quick service venues (especially Pete’s Boiler Bites) were very busy. I got a Plant Based Hot Dog and Fries and we sat at one of the tables in the Quiet Cove area enjoying our food with a view of Nawiliwili.

The horn was blasted to signal that there was one hour to go until the all aboard time and Captain Fabian also made an announcement to say that it was 2272 nautical miles in distance to our next and final port of Vancouver and we would be sailing at an average of 19.8 knots to get there on time the following week.

After a quick ice cream and along with what easily seemed like everybody else onboard the ship, we watched sailaway from Deck 10. We had both absolutely loved our time in Hawaii – both whilst staying at Aulani (somewhere we had wanted to stay for such a long time) as well as onboard the beautiful Disney Wonder sailing to Maui, the Big Island and Kauai. But after a busy few days exploring, we were now really looking forward to enjoying the next five days at sea.

We stood at the very front of a busy Deck 10 as the When You Wish Upon a Star horn sounded a few times as we slowly left the dock (and I loved that the music playing in the basketball court at this time was Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye) and sailed out of Nawiliwili Harbor.

After leaving the harbour, we slowly walked around the whole of Deck 10 taking in our last views of Hawaii and the incredible and beautiful island of Kauai.

As we headed out to sea for the next five days, we went back to our stateroom and sat on our verandah to enjoy a glass of wine as well as enjoy the cheese plate that had been left for us the day before. We raised a toast to Hawaii and being back onboard the Disney Wonder having an amazing time after the horrible uncertainty of the last few years when we were not even sure that this cruise would ever happen. It was happening, we had absolutely loved Hawaii and now we could finally relax!

It was such a beautiful and perfect afternoon that after we had finished the cheese and wine, we went back up to Deck 10 to walk around a little bit more. You could still see Kauai in the distance and I still could not stop taking photos of everything!

After having a shower and getting ready for the evening ahead, we sat and watched Ratatouille on the television in our stateroom (all Disney movies can be watched on demand free of charge) before making our way to dinner in Triton’s at 8:15pm. Our server that night was the amazing Puta who had taken over from Caglar at the last minute who was not feeling well.

The dinner that night was “Aloha Hawaii” which was another new menu for us and is exclusive to the Hawaii sailings which only happen every few years. To celebrate our time in Hawaii going as good as it did, I ordered the Maui-Tini cocktail to drink and to start I had the Roasted Maitake Mushrooms which is probably one of the nicest appetisers I have ever eaten onboard. We also shared the Grilled Pineapple as well as the Tuna Poke – I had never eaten tuna before this cruise so decided to be adventurous and try something new and I absolutely loved it! For my main course I ordered the delicious North Shore Vegetable Stir Fry and I got the Maui Sundae for dessert.

The Aloha Hawaii dinner was simply the best menu I have ever had onboard the eight Disney cruises we have done over the years as everything we had was so good and it makes me sad that it is only offered on the very rare Hawaii sailings which means I probably won’t be able to get these dishes ever again.

After we had finished our incredible dinner we met both Daisy and Minnie at 9:30pm as well as Mickey and Pluto at 9:45pm who were out in the Lobby Atrium once again in their Hawaiian outfits.

We also decided to continue our new cruise tradition (that had only started the evening before) of heading to the basketball court late at night to shoot some hoops. It was very difficult to play as the wind was so strong that even the very front of Deck 10 was closed. After about thirty minutes we got a tea from the drinks station on Deck 9 to take back to our stateroom where our newest towel animals and members of our growing “Towel Zoo” were sat on the bed waiting for us.

Before going to bed we took the time to have a little sort out as we could finally pack away a lot of the stuff we had brought with us for our port days that we no longer needed. We now had five glorious days at sea to look forward to and I could not wait!

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